


I Want To Break Free

by AmethystQueen



Category: Transformers - All Media Types, Transformers: Prime
Genre: Breakdown Lives (Transformers), Fluff and Angst, Implied/Referenced Abuse, LetStarscreamHaveFriends2020, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-15
Updated: 2020-06-18
Packaged: 2021-02-21 23:27:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 5,735
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22272208
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AmethystQueen/pseuds/AmethystQueen
Summary: Instead of spending an entire season on his own, Starscream instead finds a strange mech deep in the Arctic.  As he grows closer to this mech, Starscream must decide whether he will return to his old ways or take a chance at a new life.
Relationships: Skyfire/Starscream
Comments: 87
Kudos: 251





	1. The beginning

**Author's Note:**

> This fic is being written out of pure spite because Starscream deserves to be happy in at least one continuity. Special thanks to OverlordRaxx, who responded to my anon message about this idea.

Miko tapped her feet against the table in boredom, staring at the homework strewn before her. She scrunched up her eyes to see if that would help her understand what it was saying. Naturally, it did not.

"Ugh!", she cried in frustration, throwing her pencil across the room. This was impossible! Maybe it would have been easier if Jack or Raf were here, but somehow they both were sick with a cold (curse her strong immune system). And of course Bulkhead was out with the other bots on another mission.

_Maybe Ratchet is doing something interesting_ , she thought. Whatever he was working on in the lab would surely be better than homework. She quickly gathered up her papers and shoved them into her backpack so that it looked like she had finished. 

Just as she thought, there was Ratchet standing in the lab, huddled over something she couldn't quite see on the counter. He looked like he was deep in concentration, as he didn't even notice when she banged on the wall to get his attention.

"Hey Ratchet," she finally yelled, causing the mech to yelp in surprise and drop a tool from his servos.

"Slag kid," Ratchet grumbled, leaning down to grab the tool from the floor. "Don't surprise me like that. One wrong move and this project could fall to pieces."

"Or what, it'll explode?" Miko snickered, throwing her backpack to the side.

"Hey watch it," he shot back. "Or I won't show you." Ratchet sighed as the girl's face immediately fell with disappointment. "...Come on over." Miko sprinted to the medic's side, who leaned down to the floor again to extend his servo. As the girl vaulted over his fingers, a thought occurred to him.

"You finished your homework right?", Ratchet asked.

"...yes?", replied Miko, giving what she hoped was a convincing smile. Ratchet considered her expression, then shrugged.

"Whatever. Not my problem." He lifted his arm so that it was level with the counter, allowing Miko to jump off and get a better view of the contraption before her. It looked like a dome (sort of), with random wires sticking out from every direction. In the middle, a small fragment of energon slowly pulsed.

"So...what is it?" she finally asked.

"Isn't it obvious?" Ratchet replied, cocking his head slightly. He was met with a blank stare. "Guess not. Well, it's supposed to be a portable space bridge. That way, the others don't have to depend on someone from the base bringing them back."

"That's awesome!" exclaimed Miko. _Humans are so easily impressed_ , Ratchet thought, but nonetheless felt a small feeling of pride rise in his spark. 

"It's still a prototype of course," he added, not that it seemed to deter the girl's excitement. Fiddling with the wires protruding from the device, he made a satisfied noise. "What do you think, should we try it out?"

"Yeah!" Miko cheered. Ratchet rumaged around on the crowded counter until he found a data pad with several clips hanging from the bottom. He clipped the datapad to several wires on the miniature space bridge and tapped the screen. Suddenly, the machine began to vibrate, with the energon beginning to pulse frenetically.

"Hey Ratchet, is it supposed to do that?" asked Miko nervously. Instead of replying, the mech quickly scooped her up in his servos and turned his back to the prototype, bracing himself for the expected explosion. However, instead of a loud boom and spray of metal shards, a quiet popping sound occurred. Ratchet carefully turned around while still shielding the human girl. Where the prototype had sat, there was instead a small ring burned into the counter.

"Huh," said Ratchet. He unfurled his servos, freeing Miko from his clasp.

"Does that mean it worked?," she asked.

"Guess so," the other replied. "I'll have to be more careful in the future though." He scribbled a couple notes on the datapad and grabbed some more scrap metal to begin rebuilding the device.

"Where do you think it went?," Miko mused. Ratchet shrugged.

"It's hard to say. Space bridges are unpredictable even when controlled with a regulator. For all we know, the prototype could be on the other side of the universe by now..."

What the mech did not know was that although the machine was indeed unpredictable, he was a bit off on his trajectory prediction. It actually only made it to the middle of the Arctic tundra, where it promptly exploded. The resulting avalanche was so massive that it unearthed a glacier so deep it had not seen the Sun for thousands of years. Underneath the ice, an ancient being had hibernated, dead to the modern world. But now, it began to stir, awoken by the vibrations still coursing through the ice. The creature shifted in its prison, causing the glacier to crack. It wasn't very large, only a sliver in comparison to the size of the ice. But the creature was patient after being trapped for a millennium. It could afford to wait a couple more hours.


	2. Found You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Starscream looks for energon in Antarctica, but finds something else instead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's the weekend before finals week and you know what that means! *posts a new chapter at 1 am*

About three miles away, a lone mech struggled to navigate the icy terrain. Shivering violently, he hissed in frustration to himself as he saw nothing but solid ice and snow surrounding him.

"This is a waste of time," he muttered quietly, though there was no one around to overhear him. (You could never be too careful, especially with his luck lately). He could have sworn the Harbinger's scanners had picked up a sizeable source of energon in Antarctica, though at this point his energon levels were so low he would have been elated at finding even the smallest scrap of food. However, he had been searching for hours and still found nothing. Once again, he found himself mourning the loss of his T-cog. If he still had the ability to fly, he would have been able to search much more efficiently. Unfortunately he did not, and so was forced to walk like a grounder of all things.

_Maybe I should reconsider being on my own_ , the mech thought miserably. At least he would get a decent meal back with the Decepticons. He knew too well what they would say though.

"Typical Starscream," they would laugh. "All talk and no show. Couldn't even last a full cycle on his own. How pathetic."

Dejectedly, Starscream kicked his pede at a patch of snow before suddenly wincing in pain. That...hadn't felt like snow at all. In confusion, he gingerly poked at the mass with his pede again. It made an odd ringing sound, like when two pieces of metal clang together. Kneeling down in curiosity, Starscream dug at the snow until he was able to pull out the offending object. To his disappointment, it was just a mangled piece of shrapnel with a few random wires hanging from it.

In a rage, he threw the metal with all his strength over a nearby hill. He turned around in disgust, ready to return to the Harbinger in defeat when he heard another clanging sound. Reflexively he flinched, frozen in place except for a nervous flick of his wings. After several tense minutes of silence, Starscream finally felt himself relax. 

_What in the scrap was that?_ , he thought. Turning back around, he climbed up over the hill and looked down into a deep ditch. At the bottom, he saw the piece of metal he had thrown sitting on what appeared to be a large pile of snow. Carefully, he slid down the slope until he reached the place where the metal lay. 

At first, the pile appeared relatively normal. When Starscream picked up the metal shard though, he saw that the snow was actually covering a mound of ice. He brushed some of the snow off curiously to get a better look. Looking closer, he could see the ice was patterned with web like cracks all over its surface. The damage was too severe to be caused by the small metal piece that landed on it. In fact, if Starscream didn't know any better, it looked like something had been trying to break through. He shivered again, though not from the cold. It was probably best not to dwell too much on it.

"I don't like this," Starscream said aloud to no one (he was starting to do that a lot more often). Something didn't feel quite right about this place. Quickly, he turned on his heel to attempt to climb his way back up the slope. Unfortunately, in his haste he turned too fast and ended up sprawling onto the ice mound, knocking more of the snow off. Groaning in pain, he pushed himself onto his servos and looked straight into another mech's face.

Yelping in shock, Starscream fell backwards on his aft, scrabbling in a panic until his back hit the hill behind him. After cowering for a few seconds, he slowly opened his optics again when he realized nothing was happening.

_I'm hallucinating_ , Starscream thought incredulously. _I haven't eaten in three days and now I'm seeing mechs buried underneath the ice_. He slowly crept closer to get a better look while brushing off more of the snow. There, under a layer of solid ice, was one of the largest mechs Starscream had ever seen. They were almost pure white except for a blue stripe on their helm and red highlights on their torso. He wasn't quite sure what their alt mode was, but any mech with a fist the size of his head was either a shuttle or a war frame. Either way, not someone he wanted to meet in his current condition.

_This must be what showed up on the Harbinger's scanners_ , thought Starscream. The mech was certainly big enough to hold a large quantity of energon. It wouldn't be too hard to drain the energon from their frame (not that they were using it anyways). Starscream shuddered at the thought of consuming energon from a corpse, but desperate times call for desperate measures. Resolutely, he aimed one of his missiles at the ice and fired. The ice exploded with a large crack, falling to pieces around the mech's body.

Cackling with glee, Starscream scampered over to the mech and grabbed one of their arms with his own. It would take quite a while to drag them back to the ground bridge, but it certainly would be worth it. Suddenly, he felt a slight tremor move through the cold metal. Alarmed, he immediately dropped it and backed away. That had almost felt like...no it was definitely impossible. It wasn't like the mech was alive...right?

_Maybe I should check_ , he wondered. He already knew what the answer would be though. No mech could survive these temperatures for extended periods of time, and especially not being surrounded by ice. Still, Starscream wasn't a paranoid mech for nothing. Steeling his courage, he gingerly tapped the mech on the forehead with a single claw. Cringing slightly, he waited for any sign of movement but was met with none. He sagged with relief, then lifted his head again.

And stared into a pair of ice blue optics.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After being informed by Transformers Wiki that Starscream doesn't reach Antarctica until the episode "Triangulation", I have decided to make my own Season 2 timeline. I'm already taking a sledgehammer to canon, might as well continue the job lol


	3. Have you ever been to the Nova Quadrant?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Starscream meets a mech, gets an idea, and is confused (not necessarily in that order).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back baby :D

Starscream froze in terror, a strangled squeak escaping his mouth as he watched the white mech slowly shift into a sitting position. Even when on the ground, the mech was still massive. And from this angle it was clear that they were built for combat, meaning that they wouldn't think twice before ripping his spark from its chamber. Starscream began to shake in terror at the thought.

_Primus save me_ , he thought weakly. Even when he wasn't half-starved and exhausted, Starscream would be hard pressed to defeat a mech like that. And with his T-cog gone, there was no chance of him outrunning them either. His only hope would be to pray the mech had any shred of mercy and throw himself onto it (which was no different from how it had been with Megatron).

Still shaking, he pressed his wings as far against his back as he could and crouched low to the ground to make himself as unthreatening as possible. Not daring to look at anything other than the snow at his pedes, he waited for whatever command the war frame was sure to give.

"E-excuse me?"

Starscream snapped out of his thoughts to stare at the white mech, who smiled awkwardly.

"Um...Are you alright?"

Starscream blinked in confusion. When he didn't answer, the white mech rambled on.

"Its just that you were shaking pretty badly, and your wings are pretty scratched up. I mean, I'm no medic, but I just wanted to make sure you were okay."

Not trusting himself to speak, Starscream simply nodded. The mech immediately slumped with relief.

"Oh thank goodness. I don't know a thing about fixing mechs up, so I'm afraid I wouldn't be much help if you were." They stuck out their servo. "I'm Skyfire by the way."

Starscream slowly reached out to shake the extended servo, still trying to figure out what was going on. Was the mech trying to catch him off guard? It couldn't actually be that they cared about his well-being. He might as well humor the mech though, if he wanted to keep his wings. "Err...Starscream." Skyfire beamed.

"Well Starscream, I'm sorry to be a bother, but I'm afraid I've gotten a bit off course. If it's not too much trouble, could you please tell me where I am?"

"You don't know where you are?" asked Starscream cautiously. Skyfire rubbed the back of their head sheepishly.

"Unfortunately not," they replied. "My coordinate systems haven't come online yet." They paused, as though a thought had occurred to them. "On that note, could you tell me what cycle it is?"

Starscream was beginning to think he wasn't going to get slaughtered after all. In fact, this situation might actually be a stroke of good fortune for once. With a mech like Skyfire on his side, he would be able to do practically anything he wanted. Besides, what did he have to lose by trying? The worst case scenario would be that Skyfire would kill him (and he was a goner anyways if he didn't find any energon soon).

"You're on Earth," Starscream answered smoothly. "As for the cycle, I can tell you that it's been about four million since the beginning of the war-" 

"Four million!?" interjected Skyfire with horror. "When I left Cyberton, it had been going on for less than fifty!" Both Starscream and Skyfire were floored by this revelation. Before Starscream could respond, his attention was drawn to the rapidly darkening sky. He knew that the Sun would not dip below the horizon for several more hours, so there was only one other explanation. _Slag_. There was no way they could make it back to the ground bridge in time before the storm hit. And he knew he wouldn't last five klicks in his condition.

"I hate to interrupt, but I do believe we need to continue this discussion elsewhere." Starscream said nervously. 

Skyfire looked back at the sky, which was turning a rather nasty shade of black. "Is the sky not supposed to do that here? Because I saw something just like that once on a planet in the Nova Quadrant. Have you ever been to the Nova Quadrant? It's actually quite interesting since-"

"Yes yes yes that's all very fascinating," Starscream interrupted. "But unless you want to be buried under ice for another four million cycles, we had better get to a shelter." Turning on his heel, he began to climb out of the ditch. As he reached the top of the slope and walked briskly in the direction he had came, he heard the heavy footsteps of Skyfire behind him. Looking back, he saw the other mech gazing at the growing storm with fascination. _What's wrong with this mech?_ , wondered Starscream. Well, anything was better than being alone.

...right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Why is there multiple definitions of a cycle?? Who is responsible for this?!?


	4. Guard Duty

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which we interrupt your scheduled SkyStar content to give you an update on the Nemesis.
> 
> Or: The Vehicons are stressed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long break, I swear I'm going to post more regularly soon. For all of you choosing your junior and senior classes, please never take IB it ain't worth it lol.

Thousands of miles above the Earth's surface, a ship circled lazily in the planet's orbit. Though new to this solar system, the battered craft and its crew were far older than the oblivious organic life below. Deep within the ship, a cluster of Vehicon soldiers huddled nervously together. They chattered quietly to each other, trying to delay as much as possible before splitting up to their posts. Though there was no real need for guard duty, as the Autobots had mainly initiated combat on the ground, Lord Megatron still demanded it. No one had the courage (or was dumb enough) to question his reasoning, especially when he had that purple glint in his eyes.

Still, the Vehicons lingered. In the past, they would have rushed to their work, if only to avoid punishment from their currently absent Second in Command. But with the spider-mech Airachnid on board, they were reluctant to go anywhere in a group of less than five. (The spider claimed she wasn't a Sparkeater, but they still hadn't found where A-127, K-996, and Z-047 had gone.)

Suddenly, there was a violent slamming sound, as if someone had aggressively opened a door further down the hallway. The group instantly became silent. A short pause followed (if the Vehicons had needed air to function, they would have held their breath). Then, a familiar shriek of rage split the air.

"BREAKDOWN!!!"

The Vehicons panicked. Death by cannibalism was certainly undesirable but then so was being in the crossfire of the doctor's wrath. Quickly, they debated among themselves about what they should do.

"We should just go to our posts," stated one.

"And risk running into Airachnid?!" whispered another. "We should just wait here until Knock Out calms down."

"That could be joors!" retorted a third. "By that time our shifts will be over and we'll all be slagged." Suddenly, one of the Vehicons gasped.

"Where's Steve?" they whisper-yelled. The rest of the group panicked as they each realized their companion had indeed vanished.

Further down the hallway, the mech in question crept in the direction of the medbay. Once they reached the door (which was once again closed), they slowly brushed their servo against the sensor to see whether it would open. When it did not, Steve quietly pressed their audial against the metal and listened intently to the muffled conversation.

"...that fragging skinjob!!" snarled Knock Out.

"Aw it ain't so bad," soothed Breakdown.

"The SLAG it is!!" the medic screeched. "I did not spend 10 joors fixing my paintjob to have some organic freakshow rip another hole in it! This wouldn't have happened if you were on the mission with me! But of course I have to get stuck with bots who don't know a blaster from a piece of scrap!"

"You know I wanted to help you out babe, but Dreadwing already had me on another assignment. Apparently he thought I was needed somewhere else." Knock Out scoffed.

"What does that mech know. That self-righteous afthole comes back from Primus knows where and thinks he can just order us around. Like we've got nothing better to do than follow his commands. I hope Starscream slits his throat when he comes back."

At the mention of Starscream's name, Steve's spark swelled with hope. Did the doctor see the Seeker on his mission? It had been so long since they had heard news, especially with Megatron forbidding any mech to assist the former Second in Command. Steve knew it had been only a few months in Earth time that he had been gone, but it felt like vorns.

"You think he's gonna rejoin us?" asked Breakdown in confusion.

"Of course he is!" retorted Knock Out. "That mech couldn't last two cycles by himself on Cybertron, much less this mud ball. He's a Seeker remember? You know how they are."

As Knock Out continued to rant, Steve felt a curl of rage build within them. What did the doctor know about survival? Starscream was the strongest, most capable mech they had ever seen! If anyone was capable of surviving on their own, it would be him. They were about to break their way into the medbay to give the doctor a piece of their mind when they were suddenly pulled backwards by their neck. Turning their head, they met the annoyed faces of their fellow Vehicons.

"Again Steve? Really?" hissed H-033 as they pulled them down the hallway.

"Sorry," muttered Steve. 

"You're going to get yourself killed," said M-420. The others hummed in agreement, but Steve had already stopped listening in favor of stewing on their rage. It wasn't fair that Starscream was out there all alone at the mercy of the Autobots, while mechs like Megatron and Knock Out were up here in safety.

After all, it wasn't like Starscream had anyone helping him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Petition to give the Vehicons vacation time, they've been through so much.


	5. The Trek Home (Part 1)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Skyfire updates his log (or tries to anyways)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow it's been a while hasn't it. Sorry it's been so long, I haven't had the motivation to do anything in a while. Anyways, enjoy this new chapter.

_Mental Log Entry #34156_

__

__

_Time: Unknown_

_Current location: Unknown planet_

_Medical Status: All programs essential to survival are running normally. However, all nonessential programs are functioning at 55% capacity. Systems should return to 100% capacity once neutral environment is reached._

_Note: Planet has been categorized as "Earth", though official distance from Cyberton is undiscovered. Scanners indicate planet environment is composed of crystalline solid molecules (general term: ice). Planet is most likely an ice giant, though further observations will need to be conducted at a later time due to weather disturbance currently building in opposite direction of trajectory. Defining characteristics include increasing wind speeds and dropping temperatures. Can reasonably be assumed to be high level threat based on current situation.*_

_*Clarification: Current situation is being stranded on previously mentioned unknown planet after thruster malfunction.-_

Something scuffed against Skyfire's pede. He jolted, taken by surprise by the sudden contact. Still immersed in his log, he frowned in confusion. There shouldn't be anything in this environment to cause such an action, unless...

_Oh dear_ , he thought with immediate concern. Had he accidentally bumped into his companion? Skyfire knew he was far from a small mech and what felt like a simple tap to him could easily dent the frame of whoever was unfortunate enough to be bumped into. Hardly a good first impression to the first mech he had spoken to in millennia. Quickly, he switched back to his visual feeds, an apology already forming in his processor. To his relief, it seemed that he had simply gotten too close to one of the ice walls on either side of their path (When had they entered a canyon? He really needed to pay closer attention). 

Skyfire sighed, relaxing somewhat. _Guess I'm still as scatterbrained as I was on Cybertron_ , he thought sadly. Luckily, this planet seemed to be somewhat barrren, which would reduce the amount of damage he could cause. Still, he should probably be careful just in case. If Planet 76-8900 had taught him anything, it was that it was best to never make assumptions. After another quick glance, Skyfire decided it was okay for him to return to his log. There was so much he needed to record, like opening a new file on his companion, readings on the planet's atmosphere, and-

Another scuff, this time accompanied by a quiet screeching sound. Skyfire switched to his visual feeds again to inspect the damage to his pede. Thankfully, it was only a thin cosmetic scratch to his paint. If he wasn't careful though, the next scratch could bring energon, or worse, be on his companion. Skyfire shuddered with guilt at the thought. He would have felt horrible if he had caused any harm to Starscream, even though they had just met.

_I'd better save the log for later_ , thought Skyfire sadly. He sighed quietly, until an idea occurred to him. With the log out of his visual feed, he would be able to observe his environment effortlessly. And he could always write his findings down later. Excitedly, Skyfire closed the log program and looked around at the frozen planet. _I had forgotten how beautiful ice can be_ , he thought absentmindedly. When was the last time he had simply looked at nature rather than cataloging it?

He had to admit though, it was a little disconcerting to not know what was going on. On all the other planets he had explored, he was fully aware every miniscule detail. Now, he didn't even know what year it was. Take the weather disturbance for instance. If he had access to his full database, he would know exactly what type of storm was developing. But as it was, he could only note that the wind speeds had dramatically sped up in the last 5 klicks, and there was now little bits of ice flicking onto his back. Probably not a good sign, but then again he had only been awake on this planet for less than a joor so he could be wrong. Perhaps he had become a bit too reliant on the programs the Academy had outfitted him with. Oh well, it couldn't be helped now.

At least he was following someone who knew where they were going.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Stay safe out there and wash your hands pls.


	6. The Trek Home (Part 2)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Starscream is completely fine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter came out a little more angsty than I originally intended. That's what I get for writing at midnight I guess.

Starscream had no idea where he was going.

To be fair, he hadn't exactly been paying attention to his surroundings before. Why would he look around? It wasn't like there were any distinguishing landmarks other than varying heights of glaciers. Besides, he had been (rightfully) focused on finding the Energon source. At the time, that had seemed much more important than remembering trivial things like which direction he was headed or how to get back.

Once he found the Energon source, he had planned to simply retrace his steps, dig up the ground bridge remote from where he had stashed it, and return to the ship. It should have been easy to accomplish, considering the harebrained schemes he had somehow gotten away with in the past. Like that time in the Acid Wastelands with the harpoon...or was it a javelin? Come to think of it, why would he need either of those things on that planet? (Maybe he was losing it faster than he thought)

At any rate, as he stumbled through the ice, he realized he didn't recognize a single thing. Even without the raging storm around him, nothing looked familiar. In fact, he wasn't sure how he had ended up in this area in the first place. Had he walked through a canyon before? It didn't seem quite right, but he didn't remember enough to dispute it.

_This is ridiculous_ , he thought angrily. He was a Seeker for frag's sake! Seekers weren't supposed to get lost, in fact it was the exact opposite of their purpose for being built. **They're also supposed to fly** , supplied a rather nasty voice in the back of his mind, which he decided to ignore.

Once again, he cursed this horrible planet's need to make everything absurdly difficult. If there were landmarks or even a little variety in this frozen tundra, then maybe he would be able to know where he was. But of course everything had to be white, and hard, and miserable. If he didn't know any better, he would say that the rock was **trying** to kill him. Though it would be right in line with his luck if that really was the case.

In hindsight, leaving the ground bridge remote behind had been a really stupid thing to do, considering his subspace was one of the few things he had which still worked. But he had been so afraid at the time of being captured by either the Autobots or the Decepticons, and he knew from experience that the subspace was the first place that was searched. Then the remote would be found and his ship would be seized by his captors forever. The thought of losing the last place that held some form of safety was too much to bear.

Not that he had ever been safe since he left Vos. Even back on the Nemesis, he had always needed to be alert. True, he did have an intact roof over his head, rather than a ship with more holes than steel. The Decepticons did also have a somewhat consistent Energon supply. And Knockout was at least partially more reliable as a medic than he had given him credit for. Things that he had taken for granted at the time but most desperately needed now.

But despite everything in his favor, he was never quite comfortable. Every time he was hailed to the command centre, a little ball of anxiety would build in his core. He could see it now. _During the walk there, he would agonize over everything he had done. Had he intentionally been plotting something this time? Was something happening with the Autobots? Did he make a mistake somehow? By the time he faced Megatron the ball in his core would have grown to the size of a fist._

_Soundwave would be there because he always was. Megatron would be staring as he walked in, or facing away with his back to the entryway. Either way, he would be trying not to squirm, waiting for what would follow next (because it always did without fail). Then, in that awful tone of voice which signaled trouble, Megatron would say:_

"Starscream?"

Starscream startled, wings flaring in panic. His head whipped around to face Skyfire, who looked concerned. How had they managed to sneak up on him in like that? Weren't giant mechs like them supposed to be loud? Feeling angry with himself for letting the other mech get so close without him noticing, he bared his denta threatening.

"What!?" he snapped. Skyfire shrank back slightly.

"I'm terribly sorry to startle you like that," Skyfire stammered. "It's just that I've been calling your name for the past several minutes."

Starscream flushed, his wings lowering in embarrassment. "Oh," he muttered. Skyfire cocked their head in concern.

"Do you require any assistance?" they asked. "Because I'm sure I could-"

"I'm fine," interrupted Starscream. Before Skyfire could respond, he walked faster to put more distance between them. _I'm fine_ , he repeated internally, ignoring how his vision blurred at the increased speed.

It would be fine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Are there any characters you guys wanna see more of?


	7. The Trek Home (Part 3)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Skyfire is confused. Starscream is (not) fine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait! It's been an...interesting couple of months to say the least. Hopefully now I can get back to posting somewhat regularly.

Skyfire winced as Starscream stumbled along the frozen terrain. That was the third time they had almost fallen over. Fourth actually, he corrected, seeing the mech trip once again. Despite the other mech's previous insistence, Skyfire was starting to think that they were not "fine". Sooner or later, they would not catch themselves from falling face first onto the ice, which would be disastrous. Skyfire would know, given how many times in the past he had tripped over some loose rock or plant.

He ached to offer assistance, but he doubted it would be positively received. For the last several miles (or so he assumed, he was still terribly unfamiliar with the terrain), the Seeker had walked at a considerably faster pace. This was impressive, considering the signficant height difference between the two mechs. During this period, the Seeker had also held their wings up unwaveringly, as if to create a physical barrier between them. Skyfire may not be knowledgeable in social cues, but even to someone like him it was clear that Starscream was not interested in further interaction.

While the two mechs walked in silence, he had tried to distract himself by mentally cataloguing their scenery. Something about putting items into categories and filtering through them always seemed to calm him down. Unfortunately, he was only able to be entertained for so long, considering the fact that the only things present at the moment were ice, rocks, and wind. If he had the time to stop and look closer, perhaps he would be able to discover more hidden details. But that would mean getting left behind, as he could tell Starscream was in no mood to stop.

_Was it something I said?_ he thought sadly. Despite trying to move on, he found himself replaying the previous exchange over and over, trying in vain to find his mistake. Though he wasn't quite sure what he had done wrong, prior experiences had taught him that it was always something he had done. The only question now was what he had done in the first place. Obviously, something in his behavior had scared the other mech. Maybe his delivery had been too startling? Or was he standing too close again? (If only his supervisor was here. He had been all too willing to let Skyfire know what he was doing wrong.)

And to think he had been excited about a fresh start. The best thing to do now would be to give Starscream some space. The Seeker couldn't possibly hold a grudge for much longer anyways. Eventually, they would feel comfortable enough to start a conversation, which would give Skyfire the perfect opportunity to redeem himself! Then he could ask exactly what he had done wrong so that he could avoid repeating it in the future. All he had to do was not mess anything else up.

**Crack**

Skyfire instantly froze in place. That was not good. While remaining motionless, he looked at the ice below him. Small fractures were growing beneath his pedes, slowly increasing in size. That was not good at all. A quick glance at Starscream confirmed that the same was happening to them too, though they did not seem to notice.

The ice was quickly becoming more and more unstable. If they continued down this path, the ice would definitely break, bringing them both down with it. The only thing they could do now would be to fly off the ground as quickly as possible. The storm would definitely be a problem, and the effort to force his flight equipment to cooperate would probably put him in stasis again, but it was the only solution they had.

"Starscream?" he called. The other mech didn't even pause, continuing to walk ahead on the rapidly cracking ice. Maybe they hadn't heard him?

"Starscream?" Still no reaction. Skyfire began to feel panicked. There was no telling how much longer the ice would hold their combined weight. He hated to create a scene, but he was out of options. Taking a moment to gather his courage, he yelled out-

"Starscream!"

"WOULD YOU JUST FRAG OFF?" Starscream shrieked, stomping their pede on the ground. With a sickening crunch the cracks widened to the point of no return. The Seeker's wings drooped, now painfully aware of the situation.

"Scrap," they muttered.

Then the ice gave way completely, and they both fell into the dark.

**Author's Note:**

> Yeah the title is a Queen song what about it


End file.
